GREENSBORO, N.C. - Seven Nittany Lions are set to compete at the 2021 NCAA Championships this week, March 25-27, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
Six swimmers qualified for the Championships along with one diver.
Michael Daly, William Roberson, Jake Houck, and Gabe Castano each qualified for individual events while Zane Sutton and Daniel Raisanen punched their NCAA ticket in relay events.
Top Swims
Daly leads the group, earning a bid in both the 400 IM and 100 back. At this year's Big Ten Championships, he won gold with a career best, NCAA B-cut, and school-record time of 3:41.09 in the 400 IM. He became Penn State's first-ever Big Ten champion in the 400 IM. In addition, he secured seventh in the 100 back with an NCAA B-cut of 46.54. He swam a personal best time of 46.47 in the preliminary heats to qualify for the A-finals. He moved up to No. 5 all-time in Penn State history. He enters the week ranking 10th in the individual medley event and 22nd in the backstroke. Daly also swam for a B-cut time in the 200 back earlier this season. This is Daly's third time qualifying for NCAA's.
Daly will compete in both events on Friday afternoon.
Roberson, Castano, and Houck all notched a NCAA B-cut time in the 50 free to qualify for the Championships. They will all compete in the event Thursday morning.
Roberson leads the team in the rankings, locking in at 19th fastest time in the nation (19.17). He's coming off an impressive run at the Big Ten Championships in the event, earning bronze with a career-best and NCAA B-cut time.He also swam for two B-cut times in the 100 free and 100 back this season. Last season, he qualified for NCAA's with the 200 free relay team that currently owns the school record. He received CSCAA All-American honors after the 2020 Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Castano is a veteran competitor in the 50 free, competing in the event for the third year in a row. At Big Ten's, he swam for eighth overall with an NCAA B-cut time of 19.44. His season best time (19.36) in the event ranks him as the 32nd-fastest in the country. Last season, he qualified for NCAA's with the nation's fifth-fastest time (19.06) and the second-fastest time in program history. Along with Roberson, he was slated to compete at the 2020 Championships before they were canceled.
Houck is entering his NCAA debut ranking 26th in the nation for the 50 free. He secured sixth overall in the event at B1G's with a final time of 19.38. His preliminary time of 19.29 was a personal-best and NCAA B-cut, making him the fourth-fastest Nittany Lion to swim the event. He also swam for a B-cut time in the 100 fly during his rookie campaign.
Top Dives
Sophomore Kevin Sullivan will be representing the Nittany Lions on the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. He qualified for the Championships on the 3-meter during his NCAA Zone A Regional run. His performance earned him 252.5 during prelims, totaling his final score to 576.45. This will be his first NCAA appearance.
He is set to perform in the 1-meter Thursday afternoon and the 3-meter beginning Friday.
Nittany Lion Relays
Two relay events punched their NCAA ticket at the Big Ten Championships.
The 200 free relay team of Castano, Roberson, Houck, and Zane Sutton officially qualified for NCAA's, swimming an A-cut time of 1:17.07. Their time was only three-hundredths of a second away from the school record. They will take on the event Thursday afternoon.
Additionally, the 200 medley team of Roberson, Daniel Raisanen, Houck, and Castano locked in a new Penn State school record, going 1:24.86 for a fifth-place finish at Big Tens and a spot at the Championships. The team is slated to compete in the event on Friday afternoon.
Schedule
Wednesday, March 24 — 6 p.m. finals
- 800-yard Freestyle Relay
Thursday, March 25 — 10 a.m. trials | 6 p.m. finals
- 200-yard Freestyle Relay
- 500-yard Freestyle
- 200-yard Individual Medley
- 50-yard Freestyle
- 400-yard Medley Relay
- One-meter Diving
Friday, March 26 — 10 a.m. trials | 6 p.m. finals
- 400-yard Individual Medley
- 100-yard Butterfly
- 200-yard Freestyle
- 100-yard Breaststroke
- 100-yard Backstroke
- 200-yard Medley Relay
- Three-meter Diving
Saturday, March 27 — 10 a.m. trials | 6 p.m. finals
- 1,650-yard Freestyle
- 200-yard Backstroke
- 100-yard Freestyle
- 200-yard Breaststroke
- 200-yard Butterfly
- 400-yard Freestyle Relay
- Platform Diving
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM, on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving, and Instagram on @pennstateswimdive.